COURT REPORT

Man faces
life term for
murdering wife

Jurors reject arguments of emotional
strain when he shot Nika Hulejova

By Linda Hosek
Star-Bulletin

James C. Kendrick shook his head in disbelief as jurors returned this morning with their verdict, telling the 50-year-old man he was guilty of murdering his 21-year-old Slovakian wife.

"He's dumbfounded that they concluded that he intentionally or knowingly wanted to kill his wife," said Myles Breiner, Kendrick's attorney.

But Deputy Prosecutor Randy Oyama said Kendrick "basically assassinated" Nika Hulejova when he straddled her and pointed a cocked gun at the back of her neck.

"I think his conduct was intentional," said Oyama, who focused on physical evidence that showed the bullet went through her head, out her nose and through the mattress on which she lay. "He knew exactly what he was doing."

Breiner had argued that Kendrick suffered from emotional distress when the incident occurred on Nov. 4, 1995, at the Marco Polo Condominium he and his wife had just leased.

He said Kendrick knew about his wife's other relationships and that she had married him in part for a green card to stay in the country.

Breiner said the gun discharged when Hulejova brought her hands back and that Kendrick didn't fire it. He had argued for the lesser charge of manslaughter, either from emotional distress or reckless behavior.

Oyama stressed only physical evidence and didn't address Kendrick's alleged distress.

Breiner said he planned to file a motion to set aside the verdict based on juror misconduct.

He said he learned from alternates that some jurors already had made up their minds that Kendrick was guilty of murder before they started deliberating.

Oyama called Breiner's allegation a "ploy" but said it could be serious if it is true.

Kendrick, who frequently wiped his eyes during the trial but only shook his head during the verdict, faces life in prison with parole when he is sentenced Oct. 29 before Circuit Judge Michael Town.

Oyama said he would ask the parole board to set a minimum of about 30 years for Kendrick, a Vietnam veteran.

He said Kendrick abused Hulejova and left his gun in the open to remind her of his control. He also said Hulejova had wanted to leave, but feared deportation. He said she had just learned that foreign abuse victims can divorce and still remain in the country.

Kendrick had testified that he loved his wife and would do anything for her. He said the day he killed her she had asked him to find her "speed" so she could get through the night as a stripper.

---

Makaha shooting suspect
faces 3-strikes law

By Linda Hosek
Star-Bulletin

A man who could face the death penalty for his alleged role in a drug-related shooting death last year in Makaha is scheduled for trial April 20 before U.S. District Judge Alan Kay.

Richard Lee Tuk Chong, also known as "China," yesterday pleaded not guilty to the federal charge of using a firearm in a drug conspiracy that resulted in a planned murder.

An Oahu grand jury indicted Chong in October for murder for allegedly shooting William Noa Jr. Sept. 24 at a Makaha beach park. The charge carries life in prison with parole.

But federal prosecutors took over the case in July, in part because the government could sentence Chong as a career criminal to life in prison without parole if convicted. It is based on the "three-strikes" law that targets defendants convicted of at least two violent felonies.

Chong was convicted of kidnapping in California in 1982 and of robbery and kidnapping in Hawaii in 1989.

U.S. Attorney Steve Alm is reviewing whether to seek the death penalty for Chong.

In the complicated charge, the element of murder must be similar to first-degree murder, which requires planning or premeditation, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Butrick.

The federal indictment alleges that Chong gave Noa five to six "papers" of crystal methamphetamine, or "ice," to sell for $100.

"Chong fronted him the drugs," Butrick said. "But he didn't return the money quickly enough, so he shot him."